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America has a large pool of young tennis players who have certain capabilities to do what the current faces of American tennis have failed to do. And until we as the media stop putting ankle weights on their progress by glorifying or ridiculing their every move, the state of the union for American tennis will be weak.

While each season has its own set of hallmark moments that are etched into tennis history, 2017 presented a unique set of circumstances atop the ATP Circuit. The two most accomplished players of 2016, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, failed to continue their run of dominance. Their absence from Grand Slam finals paved the way for the other two members of the Big Four, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to re-kindle their rivalry and further their greatness during the latter stages of their career.

With the inaugural ATP Next Gen Finals in the books, many exciting tidbits came out of the year-end event for tennis’ rising stars. Only time will tell how much of an impact the tournament will have on the career trajectory of these eight men, but here is a look at the winners and losers from the last week of the season for the 21-and-unders.

The ending to this particular ATP season is more important than any in recent memory. Everything begins with the high variance of both the ATP World Tour Rankings and the ATP World Tour Race to London in 2017 as compared to past contests... So what changed? Why should the fall of 2017 following a Rafael Nadal U.S. Open victory be any different than the fall of 2013?

While we may not have the answer as to why even the game’s best players are suffering numerous injuries, we do know that their void in the last two Masters series events and at the upcoming U.S. Open is creating opportunities for those willing to convert on them.

In a season littered with inconsistent play and extreme fluidity among the rankings, one woman has made history with her play outside the Majors. Her fierce play from the back of the court has recently catapulted her to a career-high ranking of world number four, and she is only 22-years-old. Elina Svitolina will win the 2017 U.S. Open.

Exactly five years have passed since he claimed ownership of Centre Court and fell to the ground in tears following a missed passing shot from Andy Murray. At the end of this fortnight, Roger shall own it again.

Nonetheless, as he has often done in French Open finals, Rafa shut the door from the start and only two short hours later would be customarily flailing his racquet in the air and falling in the clay in his signature celebration.